Now It's Personal: China Puts Down Toyota Chairman
Toyota Chairman Fujio Cho was sitting in his company jet, ready to go to Beijing for talks with the Chinese leadership, but the jet never got off the ground. After Chinese aviation authorities refused landing permission in Beijing, Cho left his plane and went home, NHK reports.
A day before, a group of Japanese business leaders canceled a trip to Beijing. Cho wanted to go alone, together with Hiromasa Yonekura, chairman of Japan’s Keidanren business lobby and chairman of Sumitomo Chemical.
Japan’s auto executives prepare for a lasting decrease of business with China. According to The Nikkei [sub], Toyota, Nissan and Honda make a total of roughly 10,000 units in China daily, generating around 5 billion yen ($64 million) in daily profits (split 50:50 with the Chinese). 25% of Nissan’s net profit are said to come from China, compared with 21% at Toyota and 16% at Honda.
Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.
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It's only a matter of time until the US does something that the Chinese will find it convenient to be outraged by. US brands will suffer like the Japanese ones today. Which is good for the Europeans, I suppose: unlike the US and Japan, they don't have many interests that directly conflict with China's.
"shit is getting personal!" -Stringer Bell
The US needs to pick China over Japan which is a fading nation with an aging population and a nuclear disaster worse than Chernobyl. The rest of Asia hates Japan as much as China does. America needs to quit hanging with this pariah nation. It's not like they occupied foxholes with us for ages like France, the UK and Canada. Japan didn't even send troops to Iraq or Afghanistan like Germany, Italy, Spain or former Soviet nations did. http://www.cnbc.com/id/48455186/Strong_Yen_Is_Dividing_Generations_in_Japan
I think you are wrong on Japanese forces in Iraq. I distinctly remember them when I was in Baghdad. I don't think they did Combat patrols, but not many countries other than us did. The partner nations are a little more involved in Afghanistan as that stuff goes, but then again this is a NATO mission now and Japan is not a member nation. You know who wasn't in either place though? That's right...China. Unless you count scooping up a bunch of oil contracts in Iraq after our departure. Not here in the Stahn either despite sharing a border with this Nation.